10 Lakh New Jobs Will Be Generated In India Via Solar, Wind & Other Clean Energy Projects In Next 8 Years

If you’re wondering which industry has the highest probability of hiring new talent, it’s India’s renewable energy sector.

A new study has revealed that this sector can employ as many as one million people by 2030!

Renewable Energy Sector To Hire One Million People By 2030

An independent study has been released on Thursday by the Council on Energy, Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Skill Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ), named  “India’s Expanding Clean Energy Workforce.”

This study states that India’s renewable energy sector has the potential to hire around one million people by 2030, which is ten times more than the current workforce working in the sector, which is an estimated 1.1 lakh.

The study confirms that most of the new jobs would be generated by small-scale renewable energy projects, such as rooftop solar and mini and micro-grid systems, as compared to utility or large-scale projects like solar parks.

As per Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW, “The upcoming Union Budget must especially focus on scaling up rooftop solar, mini and micro grid systems, and domestic solar manufacturing to maximise the employment opportunities in the sector.”

Pandemic’s Impact On Hiring In Renewable Energy Sector

The impact of the pandemic on the hiring scenario in the employment sector in the renewable energy sector has been noted by the study as well. As per the study, in FY 19, the sector employed 12400 new workers, whereas, in FY 2020, this number went down to 5200. In FY 2021, only 6400 new employees were onboarded. 

In FY 2021, new workers were mostly employed in the rooftop solar segment and annual capacity additions grew by nine percent over FY20 and accounted for 1.4 GW capacity

India has successfully trained 78,000 people under the Suryamitra training program during 2015 and 2017, which improved the availability of skilled workers for clean energy projects.

In 2018, we had reported that India at the sixth spot amongst the Group of Twenty (G-20) nations. Clean energy is another name for renewable or alternate energy.

The Pew report stated that India is one of the top-performing clean energy economies in the 21st century. The report recorded the fifth-highest 5-year rate of investment growth and eighth highest installed renewable energy capacity in India amongst G-20 nations.

So, what made India tick? The report stated that India’s National Solar Mission led to a 7 times increase in solar energy investments. The aim of this mission is to generate 20 gigawatts of solar power 2020. This led to an increase worth of 4.2 billion dollars.